Map of the Hollow Moon, Cacklogallinia, 8 miles per hex by John Calvin, May 2016 (Work In Progress)

Comments1) This differs from the original 40mph map where the Trade Cities and Cacklogallinia's borders were combined under the single label of "Cacklogallinian Trade Cities". It has become apparent with additional research that these are two separate entities.2) For now, this map is pretty sparse, but I wanted to post it and hopefully start to flesh it out a bit more.

Notes:1) Cacklogallinians -- A mercantile race of bird-like, flightless shysters and "con artists", these skittish creatures are the founders and champion bargainers of the eastern trade-cities. They've independently developed their own versions of many Darokinian merchant-spells (those dealing with bargaining and finances -- Count Coins, Evaluate, Trust, Crowd Summoning, Saviour Faire, Silver Tongue*, Detect Lie, Inventory, Smuggling, Accounting, Embezzle -- rather than actual caravan handling), for use in their incessant business dealings. Unlike the Gaz11 versions, many of the Cacklogallinian spells can be reversed, or otherwise applied to nefarious ends; for example, Count Coins in the hands of such a creature could become Miscount Coins, which causes its unsuspecting target to err by 10-40% when counting out coins by hand... always in the spellcaster's favour (either paying him/her too much, or charging too little).

(* - This one's designed to work on a single person, as the doting Cacklogallinian merchant puts a companionable arm across the potential buyer's shoulders ... thus providing the contact necessary for Charm-magic to function in the HM.)

2) The bird-like Cacklogallinians, on the other hand, consider foxes of any sort to be evil, egg-eating, chick-devouring monsters every bit as savage as werewolves (!); they hunt vulpines ruthlessly in the countryside of their own nation, and harass or even assassinate known werefoxes in cities which they control, rather than risk their dear pullets' safety.

3) The farthest a given society may descend into barbarism/primitivism, is its state at the time it first emerged as an unique culture (thus some HM nations -- Cacklogallinia, for one -- will never decline so far as to cease practising agriculture, making iron, etc).

4) The Cacklogallinian trade-cities cultivate giant glowworms and fireflies for their luminous body fluids, and Modrigswerg alchemists isolate the active enzymes of bioluminescence from these, for long-term storage and future use.

On the Outer WorldCacklogallinia was a vassal state of the Kanastenid Empire of western Brun during its height in BC 590. A mercantile culture composed of gyerians, bird-like humanoids, Cacklogallinia was known as a trading center, and its inhabitants as shrewd and often times unscrupulous merchants. With the fall of Nithia in BC 500, one of the empire’s largest trade partners, the Kanastenid Empire began to falter. In BC 317 the empire began to crumble from within after an unsuspecting trade vessel brings an infestation of hivebrood, and the gyerians were blamed. By BC 250 the Kanastenid Empire was shattered, and the remnant territories of Cacklogallinia were known as the Land of Gyerians by invading ogre-kin of Suma’a and Gombar.

In the Hollow MoonSince their arrival, the gyerians of Cacklogallinia have spread along the coastlands of three great seas in the Hollow Moon. The original settlements were placed in the grasslands along the eastern shores of Mare Tranquillitatis, and from there the culture spread rimward along the hilly and forested terrain between the southwestern shores of Mare Crisium and the northern shores of Mare Fecunditatis.

Cacklogallinian cities are spectacular hubs of industry and fortune, and gyerian merchants thrive in many ports and trade centers throughout the Hollow Moon, especially in the region of the Spindrift Sea.

CultureCacklogallinian culture is centered around trade guilds. For the gyerians of Cacklogallinia, the guild is almost an extension of family. From the moment that chicks are hatched, they are promised to the guildmasters, with little chance of moving outside the guild their family is affiliated with. Thus the chicks of woodcutters are destined to be woodcutters, while the chicks of farmers are destined to be farmers themselves. While most Cacklogallinians are born merchants, only those of the Factors Guild typically have dealings with outsiders. These are the gyerian “middlemen” who are trained to do business with neighboring races, as well as their own.

The northern cities of Cacklogallinia are agricultural hubs, producing a majority of the grains that can be found across the entire Hollow Moon. Ships often sail from the gyerian cities across Mare Tranquillitatis to the lands of Shaergarde in the west, though the nearby lands of the Margasta are studiously avoided. Southern cities, those between Mare Crisium and the Strait, tend to be more industrial in nature, focusing on lumber and finished crafts.

Fire TimesVery few Cacklogallinian cities are built near any of the more destructive volcanoes in the Hollow Moon, though many of the northern cities do have to contend with the periodic fumes that bellow forth from the Taurus Mountains. Sometimes these fumes are strong enough to destroy crops, forcing local farmers to seek shelter behind the nearest city walls.

Adventure Ideas

A clan of werefoxes invades the northern territories of Cacklogallinia, plaguing the main trade route between the city of Clakkar and the Taurus gnomes. Putting an end to their depredations along the road is only the beginning, for the real danger comes from the werefox patron, a gnomish merchant wishing to usurp his gyerian competitors.

Dark ships have sailed across Mare Tranquillitatis and into the port of Byrrk. Though their cargo holds are filled with goods, not a single crewman is to be found on any of the three ships. Unfortunately the ships sailed too close to the city of Maskelyne, the City of Shadows, and are now infested by the otherworldly beings.

Guildmaster Kray’kaw has not been seen for several months, and what is worse is that her Tree-fellers Guild has stopped sending all shipments of lumber to Byrrk. Little does anyone know that Kray’kaw and her crew stumbled upon a nest of hivebrood in the timberlands of the far north. She, her crew, and all who have gone to investigate have fallen to the creatures, whose power is growing. Should they not be stopped, the hivebrood could decimate all of northern Cacklogallinia.